Westons Cider reveals £12M opportunity in convenience

Westons Cider has revealed the convenience channel could be missing out on a staggering £11.8M of sales by failing to prioritise the country’s most popular crafted cider.

Worth £54.1M, a bottle of Henry Westons Vintage is purchased every second. However, despite colossal growth (+16.6 per cent) and almost total coverage in multiple retail, distribution in convenience remains far lower, at 76 per cent.

Now, Westons Cider is urging independent retailers to stock up on Henry Westons ahead of the summer to capitalise on the brand’s increasing popularity and maximise profits.

“Henry Westons Vintage is one of our star-performers in retail and the second biggest cider SKU,” notes Holly Chadwick, Brand Manager for Henry Westons at Westons Cider. “Shoppers are buying into the brand in huge numbers and Henry Westons is more popular than ever.

“Last year we saw the total cider category struggle to match the exceptional sales performance of 2020. But the Henry Westons brand bucked that trend, adding more than £10M value in 2021 alone and posting year-on-year sales up 20.6 per cent, ensuring crafted cider was one of the only cider subcategories in growth. The total Henry Westons brand family is now worth an incredible £70M.

“All this said, time and again we hear of shoppers struggling to track down Henry Westons Vintage in the convenience channel. And this means independent retailers could be missing out.”

Henry Westons Vintage (8.2 per cent ABV) and the wider Henry Westons portfolio, which includes Henry Westons Cloudy Vintage (7.3 per cent ABV), Henry Westons Vintage Rosé (5.5 per cent ABV) and Henry Westons Organic Cider (6 per cent ABV), offer shoppers authentic, premium and high-quality choices within favourite cider sub-categories. The brand also plays an important role in driving value into the category, thanks to a higher average price per litre.

The opportunity for Henry Westons reflects the broader opportunity for crafted ciders in convenience which, despite their continued popularity, currently under index in the channel (representing 13.6 per cent of the channel’s value sales compared with 16.4 per cent in the total market).

Overall, crafted cider sits at 87 per cent distribution in convenience, compared with 97 per cent across total grocery.

“We know that in addition to distribution, out of stocks can be a challenge for the convenience channel,” adds Chadwick. “Space remains at a premium, so we’d recommend that independent retailers make the bestselling cider SKUs like Henry Westons Vintage a priority in their chillers.

“This means allowing for double, or even triple, facings and ensuring restocks are prioritised, particularly at times of high footfall and at the weekend.”

Run by the fourth generation of the Weston family, Westons Cider – based in Herefordshire – also produces Stowford Press and distributes Veltins German Pilsner in the UK.